Cecilia Abadie of southern California woman cited for wearing a pair of Google Glass, or Internet-connected eyeglasses, while driving says she plans to contest the ticket.
Abadie expressed shock after being pulled over for speeding Tuesday evening in San Diego, when a California Highway Patrol officer noticed she was wearing Google Glass, and tacked on a citation usually given to drivers who may be distracted by a video or TV screen.
“A cop just stopped me and gave me a ticket for wearing Google Glass while driving! The exact line says: Driving with Monitor visible to Driver (Google Glass),” she said told her almost 2,500 followers on Google+, Google’s social network. “Is Google Glass illegal while driving or is this cop wrong??? Any legal advice is appreciated!!”
Abadie wondered whether any other “Glass Explorers” had gotten a similar ticket in the U.S. The explorers are people who are testing the new technology in public before it hits the market.
She received over 500 pieces of feedback, with many people encouraging her to fight in court.
Abadie told The Associated Press that she was not using her Google Glass when she was pulled over and that she is surprised that wearing the glasses would be illegal.
She said she’s “pretty sure” she will fight the ticket.
Elected officials in several states have introduced bills that would specifically ban driving with the glasses, which are still not widely available to the public. Other potential bans include inside movie theaters and restaurants, which have been mentioned by owners.
People wearing the glasses can tap into the internet and see real-time information for things such as directions and Facebook.
